Show a- a aI I AN EDITORIAL BYI BY I II I FLORENCE DAVIES DA VIES t I IAN AN ARTISTS ARTIST'S QUEST Robert Henri one of the gr great great- e at- at I est eat t living American painters painter I has haa Just written a 0 book In tn which he h tells us something about his hia art What hat he says IlS about tho the sort ot of people he likes to paint might well ell set us thInking Ha lie Isn t one ono ot of ot thos painters who ho a ho has discovered just one pic- pic picture pic plc picture ture turo that ho knows how to paInt and then thon paints It oer over and ond over again with nith variations varl But Dut he does most often paint people The They are people of or widely different types and et at In a way of ot the same type Ho to finds them In Mexico In Ire Ire- Ireland Ireland Ire Ireland land In tho tha desert Sometimes its It s sa a 0 little laughIng or op It may be Ton Tom the son of the Italian fruit vender ender or tho beautiful girl BirtI I or an old lady ad But always naya It ItI Iti must ex express preas a kind of dignity I But how can a little Italian boy not old enough to know what the I I word means have hoo dignity ono one I auks asks Of course It If Isn't that kind ot of dignity It Isn't tho kind that takes takee itself seriously and ond walks with a strut the kind that Is afraid that It will wilt be lost It Ii It breaths a little too that hard hard that Is just the tho very thing of all others that Henry wouldn t paint If It you paid him to For that la Is just a I pose And that Is exactly what the artist hates holes By dignity he means moans a kind of I Whenever he finds peo- peo plo plo who belong to their environ envIron- envIronment environment ment mont ment who are ore Just ju t themselves In Inthe Inthe the thO plate place herc hore they are aro and unconscIous they hae ha ea iaea a 0 certain Inward Inard dignity And all oil of Henris Henri's people seem to have that kind of unconscious JOY In being belne just exactly what they ore are Ho JIo no el yet et tor for Instance any ny one ono whether hother little In- In Indian Indian In Indian dian boy or son of ot New Yorks York's east side aide who looked as os If he were ere posing for tor a picture or pos pos- posIng pos posing ing for tor anything tor for that matter Art M ia AS a 8 HenrI is UI here w here er life exists exist and dignity humor humanity kindness or- or orI or order der I m in then that tho the bluff bluffers era ers and the four wouldn't stand much chance chonce of having this artist p paint them He lie i Is looking for Yet ho he doesn't seek out college cOllego presidents and diplo- diplo diplomats mata diplo-mata I mats judges judgen ot of o the tho supreme court O or the great of or the business world and the stage No he take takes a 0 lit lit- little littI lit little tI tle unconscious clous Mexican lad or a gypS gypsy Why Because the great great- greatness greatness greatness ness ho he Is looking tor for Is the tho great t gretl of ot sincerity the greatness that comes from being the best of just what you ou are or of fitting sour lour our place In life perfectly of being supreme supreme- supremely supremely ly true to type Its It's It a greatness that puta puts sham and pretense make 0 and andI bluff the tho empty Ings of the I Climber beneath the efforts of the theartist theartist artist er |